Attorney Anand Ramlogan, SC, is calling on the North West Regional Health Authority to admit liability for negligence now and compensate the grieving mothers who lost their babies at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital’s (PoSGH) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in April.
He made the call yesterday following the Health Ministry’s presentation of the PAHO report on the clinical events that led to the deaths of seven babies at the hospital’s NICU.
Ramlogan, who is representing the parents of the babies, added, “The PAHO report substantiates the claims of the grieving parents, in that there was a lack of proper sanitisation in the NICU that resulted in the tragic and unfortunate deaths of their innocent babies.
“We call upon the Government to instruct the board of the NWRHA to admit liability for medical negligence for the death of these babies and to engage in meaningful discussions with a view to compensating the bereaved mothers.
“Anything less will simply confirm that this investigation was a political charade that was designed to take the political heat away from the Government, do political damage control, and was nothing more than a deadly Deyalsingh political dance.”
Ramlogan added, “We’re happy the minister has finally disclosed this long-awaited PAHO investigative report into the deaths of these innocent babies. Although we maintain that the investigators had a duty to interview the grieving mothers and not confine their investigation to an interview of the medical staff at the PoSGH, the report highlights the tragedy of errors that occurred in the mismanagement and negligent care of these babies.”
He said the report “confirmed the worst fears and suspicions of the mothers that their babies were never given a genuine and fair chance at life.”
Noting the report unveiled alarming findings, he said, “The extent of the systemic failure and shortcomings identified in the report reveals a significant pattern of horror stories that led to the untimely and tragic death of these babies...
“In any functioning democratic society, heads should roll. The Minister of Health should hold his head in shame over the fake, rosy picture he’s been painting in the midst of his self-congratulatory praises, chest-thumping and pats on the back from his colleagues about the excellent job he’s doing; the chairman and board of the NWRHA would be immediately fired; and disciplinary action would be taken against those responsible.”